Speculators boost bullish gold bet to August highs

Hedge funds and money managers again raised their net long positions in gold and silver futures and options in the week to Jan. 6, as they upped a bearish bet in copper, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed on Friday.

Speculators raised their bullish stance in gold for the second straight week, bringing their net long position to an almost five-month high of 106,734 lots, the data showed. The increase of 8,343 lots came as prices hit a three-week high on safe-haven buying.

The noncommercial dealers also boosted their net long position in silver for a second straight week. They brought it to 19,620 contracts, up by 2,568 contracts, according to the CFTC. The boost came as silver prices climbed to their highest since mid-December.

They raised their net short position in copper to 10,881 lots, the highest bearish stance since October, as they boosted their position by 6,426 lots, the data showed.